Intern Profile – Hailee Durand: Part 2

Question: If you could give advice to your younger self, what would it be?

Answer: “It’s okay to be nerdy, and a little weird. It’s who you are. Don’t fight it: embrace it.” (Yes, I’ve always been a nerd and now that I’m older I’m proud of that fact, and I’m more than happy to admit it!)

Question: What is the number one place that you would like to travel to?

Answer: Everywhere! I’ve been to Italy, Mexico, Honduras and Nigeria. I absolutely love immersing myself into other cultures, and there’s so many more places I want to go and learn about.

Question: What do you do to “get away from it all” or what is your passion?

Answer: At this time in my life it’s hard to find time to just sit down and do something I really love. I do love to read. I don’t really have a favorite type of reading either. I’m as equally content reading Scientific American as I am reading Stephen King.

Question: What is your favorite book that you’ve read in the past year?

Answer: I have read some amazing books this past year, and choosing just one is hard. The best nonfiction book would have to be “Your Inner Fish” by Neil Shubin. It’s the book about the discovery of Tiktaalik a fossilized half land, half sea creature that supports the evolution of humans from fish. It’s really fascinating and the scientist who wrote it has a great writing style that’s easy to understand (and there are pictures, yay!). The best fiction book I’ve read recently is “East of Eden” by John Steinbeck. It’s an amazing book that has a story line somewhat like a modern version of the story of Cain and Abel. It’s one of those books that sucks you in and makes you think.

Question: What was your new years resolution (and how is it going so far)?

Answer: My number one new years resolution was to stop chewing my nails. It’s not going well at all.

Question: What is one sentence that describes the philosophy by which you life your life?

Answer: “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” -Albert Einstein

I love this quote and I translate it to mean roughly, don’t judge people by what they can’t do, but by what they can.

Question: Who is one of your personal heroes or someone that you admire?

Answer: My mom is my number one hero. She is strong, independent, loving and a just all around good person. She is everything I aspire to be, and she’s my best friend.

Question: When you are feeling unmotivated, how do you inspire yourself?

Answer: Being the nerd that I am I like to watch the tv shows Numbers or CSI. A mathematician who uses algorithms to solve crimes and scientists who use chemistry to catch criminals? I want to be able to do that! So, back to studying I go.

Question: What do you wish you were better at?

Answer: I wish I could manage my time with more ease. During busy weeks I end up so frazzled, and I’m always behind on something. I wish I was able to organize myself to make time for everything.

Question: Name one thing you could not live without?

Answer: I could not live without something to do. When I don’t have something to strive for I go a little stir crazy. I always have to have a goal to work towards.

I just want to thank Hailee for all of the amazing work that she has been doing here. Isn’t she amazing?!